This reminds me of a story I once heard about a passenger train which was travelling along a remote track in outback Queensland, Australia. The train came across a drifter who was walking along the line. The driver leaned out of his window and asked the drifter whether he wanted a lift to the next town, to which the drifter replied "Nah mate, I'm in a bit of a hurry".
Plus, keep in mind, Pioneer Rail Corp. bought this track from the MAW in this condition. Meaning, it doesn't look the same now. Pioneer has done a decent job so far at upgrading the line. Slowly but surely, the rails are looking much better. Check out the more recent videos I have of Pioneer.
They should just pull up the track and drive the train down the dirt road,I think it could go faster (and NO chance of derailment what-so-ever...LOL!!)
Donald Trump talked about how America is starting to look 3rd world. He travels to other countries who have new roads, airports, etc. He lands here in the US and it is old and run down. Yes...all our money goes to wars of occupation around the world....1000 bases. Why are we there?
Robi Čerpnjak Obama said of India..we are them and they are us. Sorry but I as an American don't want to be India. I want them to come up to what we are....or used to be. We should be bringing everyone up not down to 3rd world status.
Senior gal What if the American standard of life is not feasable for everyone on earth to have? What if the only way for others to rise up is for Americans to sacrifice?
This did not happen before 'The Great Society' when Everyone had to Work to survive. Rail Work was great, provided for families, kept the lines well maintained. After 'The Great Society' no one really had to ever work. All is provided.... if you know 'the system'. Only chumps Work today. Unless of course anyone desires.... a bit more.
Blogengeezer You're absolutely right. This is is the result of lowering the bar for 60 years. Reward failure, punish success, and watch the mightiest nation on Earth morph into Mexico.
The Great Society didn't kill railroads, alternative more flexible transport reduced the need for rail in every trivial backwater. Freight transport has steadily increased but the days of waiting at the railhead for you product to be delivered faded long ago thanks to more efficient transportation options. The lines which are needed are maintained. Rail freight for areas which matter is doing fine, with oil shale product transport on the rise: www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.cfm?id=12031 Rail work doesn't need a bunch of workers because operations are much more efficient today. If any of you are actually interested in history and rail then you know that gangs of navvys are long obsolete, modern rolling stock isn't nearly as maintenance intensive, and modern manufacturing reduced the need for people to build rolling stock. Modern MIG welding along with modern handling equipment got rid of labor-intensive riveted construction long ago. Modern communication reduced the need for support personnel. Modern tractor-trailers haul far more freight faster and safer than old trucks. They can bring heavy loads directly to the receiver without need for intermodal freight and do so affordably.
Ob Fuscated True replaced by technology and more flexible trucking. Reasoning for technology, comp cont robotics to replace and/or substantially reduce the financial liability of employing humans. Society with their newly found political power to 'demand' what they have been informed is 'rightfully theirs'.... just for existing. Track bum, living near section 'Gandys' as a kid during WWII, I can attest to labor intensive rail work without technology. Loved the steam era btw :>) Countless of the no longer profitable, liability lines have been torn out and replaced by trails for trekking/biking. Willard Munger Trail had periodic comp cont consists (no operators) alongside the trail, last time I was in Duluth. Humans (US etc) with their incessant, newly legalized, escalating liability factor, are rapidly forcing themselves into obsolescence. Industrial age mechanization made life so easy, sustenance so plentiful, that world population increased seven fold within 200 years. Profit motivation, allied with the pure devotion of volunteer rail aficionados, keeps numbers of lines across the country as seasonal tourist attractions. Profit motivation in conjunction with Traditional Family, Faith and Self Motivation historically drives the prosperous 'sustainable' society. UP as mentioned, is recording large profits from the transport of freight. Bakken oil, as is ethanol (E can not be piped), is quite volatile and has begun recording some undesired fame, lawsuits, as rail accidents begin to mount. Now to see who wins, Keystone or rail? No doubt Jay Gould would figure out a plan :>)
There was a ConRail branch in Cincinnati where the rails would pop up and wave at us before we rolled over them. Just as we were getting back onto better rail, 2 cars went on the ground. When the re-rail crew got there, it had started to rain, a cold, hard rain. They set it up so we re-railed both cars at once.
First of all....if you would read the description...You would realize that the railroad was originally owned by a Class I railroad (the largest type). When that railroad was absorbed by Norfolk & Western, the line was no longer needed because they had another, faster and more direct route. Therefore, it was neglected and unmaintained. When they sold it off to the Indiana Hi-Rail, they tried their best with the limited funds they had to run the rail line.
We need more railroads like this and to keep the gummint off'n our backs. Vote for less regulation and more jobs. Remember, every time a worker gits kilt, that's a new job opnin'.
Obviously conditions are acceptable to the worker.. someone is driving the train, right? Also, regulations already exist, and this is what you have, so the argument is not in your favour.
zdrux Right, because if someone is willing to work then the conditions are automatically acceptable. Thats why the factories in the industrial revolution were manned... all that labour agitation for improvements to the work conditions were just a commie plot to undermine American industry.
zdrux Really. So you think that so long as people aren't starving that any and all jobs they'll choose to take will be above board and without unnecessary risk? Interesting.
BollocksUtwat If someone finds themselves in such horrible conditions, it seems that it is the best they can get? If it comes down to staying alive or working at a questionable train yard, it is up to them to make that decision, not you. If this is all they can get, it is better than starving I suppose? If there are better jobs out there, let them go and seek them out.
John Robinson Ohhhhh, put your liberal outrage back in your pants Skippy..... Try looking closely at the U.S. Department of Transportation instead, unless of course that would impugn your favorite political party. Really, what in God's name does Sean Hannity have to do with the condition of U.S. rail lines? Could you and Kojo be that stupid??? And neither of you two boobs know how to spell his name. It's Sean, not Shaun. Oh my God...., try Google. And please, for the love of God.... DON'T breed!
hercdriver08 ! st off relax yourself. 2 nd, sean if you listen to him currently, Go back a few years. Either he was told to tone it down or given a reason to do so. He has changed. But I still have respect for him. Opps, I guess that would mean I listened to his program.....So much for being a lefty liberal. If you checked up on some of my posted responses, you would understand that that I can not tolerate the liberal mindset. And take a swing at it every chance I get. Try giving Michael Savage a listen, that man sticks it to the liberal whackos every single day, I hope he never stops. No Mr hercdriver08 you put the wrong hat on me - And I'm happy to say it does not fit me anyways. So I left it on the dirt where it belongs. The DOT is also infected with liberalism, as is almost all sections of our government. Off topic ? yes I am and I apologize for that.........
There are short lines in the USA where the track is poor and thus the train travels very slow. The Hattiesburg to Gulfport Miss KCS line was like this before an upgrade. The old Kansas City Southern maximum speed legally was 10 MPH; less than it was 100 years before. After the upgrade of 2010 to 2012 the speed was increased from 10 to 25 MPH. It ONLY COST 20 million dollars for 67.5 miles of new track and a federal grant paid for it.The funding was part of $1.5 billion in US DOT stimulus money.
Absolutely pitiful, we are trying to deliver commerce and goods on an aging infrastructure, that is some cases is neglected and not adequately maintained such as this? Unbelievable.
In the developed world, passengers enjoy smooth train travel at 200 mph. Then we have 'Murica, where the rights of billionaires are sacred and the needs of the country are sacrificed to their every whim.
+Hopelessand Forlorn Many countries have better passenger rail service, but the freight rail service in the US is second to none. It so efficient that the railroads have been able to compete with truck freight and even air freight for all this time. I'm just glad all the 150,000+ miles of revenue track in the US don't all look like this. But I read on some other comment that these tracks have been replaced anyway.
You sir, are the only one here who has a good head on his shoulders. I honestly don't think half the people watching this video read the long description I typed out.
go out there again soon & do vids of this same section of tracks Since I read that Pioneer Rail Corp is repairing these tracks & just maybe it will no longer be known as the World's Worst Maintained Trax
It runs under the F.R.A. track code "excepted track" max speed of 10mph, no passenger operations, so the only thing they need to worry about is Surface and Gauge. The close up of the camera makes it look worse than it is,once the gauge goes beyond 58-1/4" they are required to repair it, it only needs to have ties that support as needed, where class 1 has a minimum of 5 for a tangent of 39'. so all in all this track meets the FRA regs. it's probably a pain for the owners having to re-rail a lot.
If read the description the new company that has it making repairs and is doing so .The line does look better now than it did before. Yes here in America the Rail Road corporations finally got the idea that Europe was laughing at us cause our rail system hasn't seen any major improvements since before WWII .We built a interstate highway system like no other but everyone realized that major rail shipments of Coal and manufacturings raw materials are better suited for rail shipment and people moving like it is in all of Europe .And there's no excuse good enough to explain why either .But rails and equipment is being improved and being made safer and faster. It was just fat cat greed really if you boil it down but the fat cats have retired and new blood and new ideas are coming to the fore front now.
How the hell can this even be cost effective? The tracks are so bad that the train uses more fuel, not just because of the tracks, but driving slow still means you need to rev the diesel engine at a non-optimal speed. This is in the fucking US!. Train tracks laid in the >1800's< by the British in >India< is FAR better maintained!
You realize though, that the locomotive is diesel electric? Meaning a diesel generator uses fuel to power an electric current the moves the wheels? Running at slow speeds is very fuel efficient. A new locomotive can pull one ton of freight 450 miles on one gallon of fuel. Also, realize those rails in those other countries have all been replaced. When the old goes bad, in goes the new. These rails have simply never been replaced, due to lack of funds/need for the service. The railroad serves its purpose.
The opposite, actually, Wildbill. Should Libertarians and most Republicans have their way, all regulation would disappear, and there would be no Federal Railroad Administration (www.fra.dot.gov/Page/P0010)
Cliff McSparran You think any company would actually want to operate on slow orders like this? Regardless of there being a FRA the company still needs to turn a profit and needs to move more freight, faster, to do so. Obviously any major rail way would be bankrupted if it could only operate at speeds less than 4 per. They dont need to be regulated by the government, they are quite capable of self regulating.
Justin Borque If the only public concern is whether a company makes money then yes regulation is unnecessary. However people who claim regulation is superfluous seem to miss the crucial fact that companies will do things to make money that are not necessarily in the best interests of a community or a state. The free market kool aid is so strange.
That's obviously a remote sidings where the train is taking wagons for storage. Some sidings I worked on were just as bad and we had derailments every other day. Often the shunter in charge would put wire cord on the derailed wagon and we would pull back on to the line with our shunting engine. That was before the days of 'Health & Safety'.
CN acquired a unused line like this in Wisconsin that they decided to start using again minimally. I don't think it was this bad though. It was overgrown. They put a speed reduction on it. And years later it still says exempt at all the crossings which means busses & tankers don't have to stop at the tracks to see if a train is coming.
No, it was a result of an incompetent locomotive engineer who neglected to apply all the necessary handbrakes required to prevent the train from moving. It wasn't because of bad tracks. When the train rounded the curve in town at 63MPH, it hopped the tracks. The curve was only supposed to be taken at 10MPH. What you're saying is like saying a pot hole cause a driver to crash into a tree because the roads were bad, when in reality, they took a sharp curve designed for 25MPH at 55MPH.
What happened to cause the track to get into this condition? I do not think that this would be allowed to be used in the UK. Because the train has to travel along the railroad tracks at such a slow speed it makes it a very inefficient operation.
I feel if the engines were not such lumbering boxes, this would not occur. As I read a branch-line so, these are not necessary on a line not able to handle their weight.
I like that the locomotive has "always be careful" written on the pilot. I don't know how they negotiate track like this without derailing no matter how slow they travel. Will it ever get rebuilt?
What happens when a train derails and you have twenty some back logged trains waiting for clearance? You reroute them on a different line to get to the customer. Who says this line isn't efficient? It serves as a vital link to many of the area farmers who need to ship massive amounts of grain. Otherwise, they would have to pay an unfeasible amount of money to ship by truck. Plus, the railroad MAKES money. Just not enough to upgrade their tracks.
Willamina District Whiteson 730.6 Willamina 749.3 Southern Pacific 1993 18.7 (does not include 5.2 mile spur to Fort Hill operated as-needed) taken from wikipedia. the as-needed is a farse - they run nearly daily... but the loco used on the tracks is so old that it consistently breaks down, or the track itself does.
Uhhh......what maintenance we talking about here? The "always be careful" sign on the front of the engine is a huge understatement. Should read, "Never get on if you want to keep living."
You ever see a set of abandoned railroad tracks and wonder if a train could ever go down them? Well, this video pretty much answered that question for me.
The Milwaukee Road had a line like that east of Manhattan IL and west of Peotone IL. It serviced the old Joliet ammunition plant. Had a limit of 15 mph. It had a transient crew that drank Southern Comfort in the engine and smoked joints in the caboose. I have tie date nails from 1922 & 1924. It was torn out about 1984 for lack of customers.
I'm sure it's about 5 mph because of the derailments at any speed higher. My in-laws had a ranch house about 200ft from the track in Napoleon and I could never get over the amazement of seeing trains pass, could watch from the bedroom window, but more exciting going up to the side of the track, at a sfe distance of course as I didn'y know how these thinga actually stayed on the "track". Always had a pickup truck escort it, one with the drop down rail wheels.
far from being a Railfan there son I worked for Sperry Rail Service on Car 125 during the Conrail Split between CSX and Norfolk Southern and still keep in contact with friends that still work for them.
The old Winnamaw spur into National city had more temp rails than it did stoffers. That 18-mile griffith would sometimes take 12-hours on a good day even with a short trumpet.
I am very curious as to how the train stays on the tracks, given the mess they appear to be in, in all three planes; X, Y and Z. The bogeys are fixed aren't they? So are the tracks actually flexing in each plane to accomodate the train by it's mass factor alone, or is this more of a camera illusion by looking along the tracks at an acute angle, I wonder. Either way, it made it without a de-rail. Impressive. Perhaps a rail engineer will comment in answer.
Really dangerous to stand by the cars with track like that, it could derail and topple over. You wouldn't want to be next to your camera when that happens.
FYI: The MAW has recently been purchased by an investment group and this track is slated to be completely overhauled and made to look a whole lot better than it does in this video. In fact, the company has already delivered ties and other equipment to be used in the overhauling project. How do I know this? I read an article about it in a recent issue of one of the railroad magazines that I've been subscribed to since 2000.
I lived near and used to drive along these tracks (old 24) a lot. I've seen more than a few derailments including that very engine laying almost completely on its side a few years ago between Defiance and Napoleon. 7-8 grain cars right outside Woodburn... a few years ago for a while they had all kinds of different cars lined up for what seemed like miles near Cecil. You could see some where the tracks gave way and the cars were sitting on the road bed. They slowly moved them all out over time, and I've been seeing the repairs and so forth the last couple times visiting.
Climbing on and off equipment is dangerous....hence the caution. Most injuries in railroading occur when crews are on the ground working, not when they are in a cab at 5mph. The crew in this cab is far safer than if they were driving a truck on the interstate.
this is off roading for trains.
Like driving your 4x4 on a poorly built wooden bridge. xD
But sure thing these tracks creak so loud!!
You have to smile.....on the loco it reads...Always be careful.....
This reminds me of a story I once heard about a passenger train which was travelling along a remote track in outback Queensland, Australia.
The train came across a drifter who was walking along the line. The driver leaned out of his window and asked the drifter whether he wanted a lift to the next town, to which the drifter replied "Nah mate, I'm in a bit of a hurry".
"too costly to maintain"... That's suicidal logic...
+fpstina Hey, repairing track is *not* cheap.
@@ironmatic1 Nothing about railroads is cheap, even model railroads.
Casual_ Boredom 4 years ago nice
Wow BULLET TRAIN
2 year ago
This is one case if you put a penny on the tracks it actually might derail the train
Not sure I believe what I saw. How in the world a train of that length could be pulled over a disaster like that is incredible. Great footage.
Plus, keep in mind, Pioneer Rail Corp. bought this track from the MAW in this condition. Meaning, it doesn't look the same now. Pioneer has done a decent job so far at upgrading the line. Slowly but surely, the rails are looking much better. Check out the more recent videos I have of Pioneer.
I like the fact they have Always Be Careful printed on the front of the train with tracks like that lol
They should just pull up the track and drive the train down the dirt road,I think it could go faster (and NO chance of derailment what-so-ever...LOL!!)
I'm amazed the width is still in a constant tolerance.
Started watching, thinking what 3rd world country is this. Whoops it's here in America.
i was thinking that is in india but i was wrong
Donald Trump talked about how America is starting to look 3rd world. He travels to other countries who have new roads, airports, etc. He lands here in the US and it is old and run down. Yes...all our money goes to wars of occupation around the world....1000 bases. Why are we there?
Robi Čerpnjak Obama said of India..we are them and they are us. Sorry but I as an American don't want to be India. I want them to come up to what we are....or used to be. We should be bringing everyone up not down to 3rd world status.
Senior gal What if the American standard of life is not feasable for everyone on earth to have? What if the only way for others to rise up is for Americans to sacrifice?
Serjio Pretuniliy then screw everyone else........
Man, I couldn't even count the cars, it flashed by so fast!
I notice it says on the locomotive "Always be careful" LOL!
I'd bet the even Hobo's were afraid to ride on that train
I think the train took a wrong turn at Albuquerque :D
On the way to Capistrano (a' la Bugs Bunny...) 😎
That's ridiculous-why don't they maintain it? I've seen footage of post cold war Russian tracks that look better than this
Read the description. ;)
TheCRTman True indeed.
Shame, Shame, Shame. How on earth can this be happening in the modern world.
Thankyou for filming it and sharing
This did not happen before 'The Great Society' when Everyone had to Work to survive. Rail Work was great, provided for families, kept the lines well maintained. After 'The Great Society' no one really had to ever work. All is provided.... if you know 'the system'. Only chumps Work today. Unless of course anyone desires.... a bit more.
Blogengeezer You're absolutely right. This is is the result of lowering the bar for 60 years. Reward failure, punish success, and watch the mightiest nation on Earth morph into Mexico.
The Great Society didn't kill railroads, alternative more flexible transport reduced the need for rail in every trivial backwater. Freight transport has steadily increased but the days of waiting at the railhead for you product to be delivered faded long ago thanks to more efficient transportation options.
The lines which are needed are maintained. Rail freight for areas which matter is doing fine, with oil shale product transport on the rise:
www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.cfm?id=12031
Rail work doesn't need a bunch of workers because operations are much more efficient today. If any of you are actually interested in history and rail then you know that gangs of navvys are long obsolete, modern rolling stock isn't nearly as maintenance intensive, and modern manufacturing reduced the need for people to build rolling stock. Modern MIG welding along with modern handling equipment got rid of labor-intensive riveted construction long ago. Modern communication reduced the need for support personnel.
Modern tractor-trailers haul far more freight faster and safer than old trucks. They can bring heavy loads directly to the receiver without need for intermodal freight and do so affordably.
Ob Fuscated
True replaced by technology and more flexible trucking. Reasoning for technology, comp cont robotics to replace and/or substantially reduce the financial liability of employing humans. Society with their newly found political power to 'demand' what they have been informed is 'rightfully theirs'.... just for existing. Track bum, living near section 'Gandys' as a kid during WWII, I can attest to labor intensive rail work without technology. Loved the steam era btw :>)
Countless of the no longer profitable, liability lines have been torn out and replaced by trails for trekking/biking. Willard Munger Trail had periodic comp cont consists (no operators) alongside the trail, last time I was in Duluth.
Humans (US etc) with their incessant, newly legalized, escalating liability factor, are rapidly forcing themselves into obsolescence. Industrial age mechanization made life so easy, sustenance so plentiful, that world population increased seven fold within 200 years.
Profit motivation, allied with the pure devotion of volunteer rail aficionados, keeps numbers of lines across the country as seasonal tourist attractions. Profit motivation in conjunction with Traditional Family, Faith and Self Motivation historically drives the prosperous 'sustainable' society.
UP as mentioned, is recording large profits from the transport of freight. Bakken oil, as is ethanol (E can not be piped), is quite volatile and has begun recording some undesired fame, lawsuits, as rail accidents begin to mount. Now to see who wins, Keystone or rail? No doubt Jay Gould would figure out a plan :>)
Blogengeezer Ramble on, sparky. Wipe the drool off and get back on your meds.
I didn't know this was even possible.
Someone at the FRA's gonna have a stroke when they see this...
There was a ConRail branch in Cincinnati where the rails would pop up and wave at us before we rolled over them. Just as we were getting back onto better rail, 2 cars went on the ground. When the re-rail crew got there, it had started to rain, a cold, hard rain. They set it up so we re-railed both cars at once.
Love the 'Always Be careful' logo on the front of the engine!
No shit Sherlock...
First of all....if you would read the description...You would realize that the railroad was originally owned by a Class I railroad (the largest type). When that railroad was absorbed by Norfolk & Western, the line was no longer needed because they had another, faster and more direct route. Therefore, it was neglected and unmaintained. When they sold it off to the Indiana Hi-Rail, they tried their best with the limited funds they had to run the rail line.
We need more railroads like this and to keep the gummint off'n our backs. Vote for less regulation and more jobs. Remember, every time a worker gits kilt, that's a new job opnin'.
Obviously conditions are acceptable to the worker.. someone is driving the train, right? Also, regulations already exist, and this is what you have, so the argument is not in your favour.
zdrux Right, because if someone is willing to work then the conditions are automatically acceptable. Thats why the factories in the industrial revolution were manned... all that labour agitation for improvements to the work conditions were just a commie plot to undermine American industry.
BollocksUtwat He accepted the conditions.. therefore they are ACCEPTABLE.. not sure what is causing you so much headache about that.
zdrux Really. So you think that so long as people aren't starving that any and all jobs they'll choose to take will be above board and without unnecessary risk?
Interesting.
BollocksUtwat If someone finds themselves in such horrible conditions, it seems that it is the best they can get? If it comes down to staying alive or working at a questionable train yard, it is up to them to make that decision, not you.
If this is all they can get, it is better than starving I suppose? If there are better jobs out there, let them go and seek them out.
We checked it out in Napoleon a couple weeks ago. They are putting a lot of work into it, big piles of new ties, new ballast.
This railroad should set up a GoFundMe page! Lol!
BROKE FORRAIL ENTERTAINMENT L O L
I like the always be careful words right on the front of the train!! Lol!!
I didn't know that rails can possibly be so crooked.
The executives....yes they are.
Not exactly. Via Rail doesn't make crap. They lose just as much as Amtrak, have less trains, and don't schedule enough trains per week.
And Shaun Hannity says to leave safety and care to corporations to regulate..
Mr Hannity was paid for long ago.....
John Robinson Ohhhhh, put your liberal outrage back in your pants Skippy..... Try looking closely at the U.S. Department of Transportation instead, unless of course that would impugn your favorite political party. Really, what in God's name does Sean Hannity have to do with the condition of U.S. rail lines? Could you and Kojo be that stupid??? And neither of you two boobs know how to spell his name. It's Sean, not Shaun. Oh my God...., try Google. And please, for the love of God.... DON'T breed!
hercdriver08 ! st off relax yourself. 2 nd, sean if you listen to him currently, Go back a few years. Either he was told to tone it down or given a reason to do so. He has changed.
But I still have respect for him.
Opps, I guess that would mean I listened to his program.....So much for being a lefty liberal. If you checked up on some of my posted responses, you would understand that
that I can not tolerate the liberal mindset.
And take a swing at it every chance I get.
Try giving Michael Savage a listen, that man
sticks it to the liberal whackos every single day, I hope he never stops. No Mr hercdriver08 you put the wrong hat on me - And I'm happy to say it does not fit me anyways. So I left it on the dirt where it belongs. The DOT is also infected with liberalism, as is almost all sections of our government. Off topic ? yes I am and I apologize for that.........
There are short lines in the USA where the track is poor and thus the train travels very slow. The Hattiesburg to Gulfport Miss KCS line was like this before an upgrade. The old Kansas City Southern maximum speed legally was 10 MPH; less than it was 100 years before. After the upgrade of 2010 to 2012 the speed was increased from 10 to 25 MPH. It ONLY COST 20 million dollars for 67.5 miles of new track and a federal grant paid for it.The funding was part of $1.5 billion in US DOT stimulus money.
Your worries are over, Obama just announced he's coming up with the "Affordable Rail Act".
LOL! The front of the train says "Always be careful"
Young boys who want to be train drivers when they grow up: this could be where you end up.
When you examine the first scene in this video, you have to ask, "How does that track, in that CONDITION, NOT cause constant DeRails!!!
are they all like that?
I love how at 0:56 the air lines are scrubbing the ground. This seems like bad practice.
It's the Dr.Seuss RailRoad!
0:00 Middle left of track has a missing section! I don't know how that track is even legal to go over!
That train's crew deserves triple hazardous duty pay.......
They deserve a medal.
Fsilone and motion sickness pills
Perhaps if they were told to go 60 over that section, but not at this speed.
Absolutely pitiful, we are trying to deliver commerce and goods on an aging infrastructure, that is some cases is neglected and not adequately maintained such as this?
Unbelievable.
In the developed world, passengers enjoy smooth train travel at 200 mph. Then we have 'Murica, where the rights of billionaires are sacred and the needs of the country are sacrificed to their every whim.
+Hopelessand Forlorn Many countries have better passenger rail service, but the freight rail service in the US is second to none. It so efficient that the railroads have been able to compete with truck freight and even air freight for all this time.
I'm just glad all the 150,000+ miles of revenue track in the US don't all look like this. But I read on some other comment that these tracks have been replaced anyway.
Can't they get some day laborers to bend the track back straight? How hard can it be? I fixed a chair once....and it looked like a pretzyl.
Now we know why trains need suspension. Or is the train just farting?
You sir, are the only one here who has a good head on his shoulders. I honestly don't think half the people watching this video read the long description I typed out.
go out there again soon & do vids of this same section of tracks Since I read that Pioneer Rail Corp is repairing these tracks & just maybe it will no longer be known as the World's Worst Maintained Trax
I already have, check them out on my channel.
In this case, it's not so much repairing, it's building a completely new track!
+microbusss no thats not what its known as. Its known as Trump Railroad
Is that the Ashland/White Pine Sub?
wow and I thought british rail only operated in the UK
Our track is NOT as bad as that.....Thro Sheffield to Grimsby IS pretty bad. Webbo.
HAHAHA LOL Same here!
It runs under the F.R.A. track code "excepted track" max speed of 10mph, no passenger operations, so the only thing they need to worry about is Surface and Gauge. The close up of the camera makes it look worse than it is,once the gauge goes beyond 58-1/4" they are required to repair it, it only needs to have ties that support as needed, where class 1 has a minimum of 5 for a tangent of 39'. so all in all this track meets the FRA regs. it's probably a pain for the owners having to re-rail a lot.
You expect such tracks in India or south Afrika ! but the tracks there are much better. This is a sign that Amerika is going down under.
If read the description the new company that has it making repairs and is doing so .The line does look better now than it did before. Yes here in America the Rail Road corporations finally got the idea that Europe was laughing at us cause our rail system hasn't seen any major improvements since before WWII .We built a interstate highway system like no other but everyone realized that major rail shipments of Coal and manufacturings raw materials are better suited for rail shipment and people moving like it is in all of Europe .And there's no excuse good enough to explain why either .But rails and equipment is being improved and being made safer and faster. It was just fat cat greed really if you boil it down but the fat cats have retired and new blood and new ideas are coming to the fore front now.
AmeriCa
"always be carefull"
The last thing you see before you get ran over
2:04 Train fart
+Fireball Madness especially 2:10
I like how the locomotive has always be safe stenciled on it.
How the hell can this even be cost effective? The tracks are so bad that the train uses more fuel, not just because of the tracks, but driving slow still means you need to rev the diesel engine at a non-optimal speed.
This is in the fucking US!. Train tracks laid in the >1800's< by the British in >India< is FAR better maintained!
You realize though, that the locomotive is diesel electric? Meaning a diesel generator uses fuel to power an electric current the moves the wheels? Running at slow speeds is very fuel efficient. A new locomotive can pull one ton of freight 450 miles on one gallon of fuel. Also, realize those rails in those other countries have all been replaced. When the old goes bad, in goes the new. These rails have simply never been replaced, due to lack of funds/need for the service. The railroad serves its purpose.
You should see what the Rail Tracks are like in Northern Ontario, permafrost is constantly shifting the ground and the track are just as bad.
Obama Pacific RR.
Dumbya Southern RR
The opposite, actually, Wildbill. Should Libertarians and most Republicans have their way, all regulation would disappear, and there would be no Federal Railroad Administration (www.fra.dot.gov/Page/P0010)
Cliff McSparran You think any company would actually want to operate on slow orders like this? Regardless of there being a FRA the company still needs to turn a profit and needs to move more freight, faster, to do so. Obviously any major rail way would be bankrupted if it could only operate at speeds less than 4 per. They dont need to be regulated by the government, they are quite capable of self regulating.
Justin Borque Self regulate?! Why don't we let the airlines self regulate too while we're at it?? What could possibly go wrong??
Justin Borque If the only public concern is whether a company makes money then yes regulation is unnecessary. However people who claim regulation is superfluous seem to miss the crucial fact that companies will do things to make money that are not necessarily in the best interests of a community or a state.
The free market kool aid is so strange.
That's obviously a remote sidings where the train is taking wagons for storage. Some sidings I worked on were just as bad and we had derailments every other day. Often the shunter in charge would put wire cord on the derailed wagon and we would pull back on to the line with our shunting engine. That was before the days of 'Health & Safety'.
Obamarail.
I LOVE the old Illinois Central Engine, where is this at and what's the name of the RR?
That track sucks almost as much as Obama.
I love how it says "Always be careful"
CN acquired a unused line like this in Wisconsin that they decided to start using again minimally. I don't think it was this bad though. It was overgrown. They put a speed reduction on it. And years later it still says exempt at all the crossings which means busses & tankers don't have to stop at the tracks to see if a train is coming.
No, it was a result of an incompetent locomotive engineer who neglected to apply all the necessary handbrakes required to prevent the train from moving. It wasn't because of bad tracks. When the train rounded the curve in town at 63MPH, it hopped the tracks. The curve was only supposed to be taken at 10MPH. What you're saying is like saying a pot hole cause a driver to crash into a tree because the roads were bad, when in reality, they took a sharp curve designed for 25MPH at 55MPH.
What happened to cause the track to get into this condition? I do not think that this would be allowed to be used in the UK. Because the train has to travel along the railroad tracks at such a slow speed it makes it a very inefficient operation.
It took not even a second into the video to agree with you, those tracks scare me and I ain't even close to that area...
"Always Be Careful" @ 0:50
I feel if the engines were not such lumbering boxes, this would not occur. As I read a branch-line so, these are not necessary on a line not able to handle their weight.
I like that the locomotive has "always be careful" written on the pilot. I don't know how they negotiate track like this without derailing no matter how slow they travel. Will it ever get rebuilt?
Those guys aren't driving a train, they are waiting for it to fall off those tracks. Thanks for showing us
Maybe it's time to do an update of this line, assuming some repairs & maintenance have been done ..
They were closed down, broken up and sold in January 2013. The new owners replaced the entire track.
"Allways be carefull!" LOL! ;-)
What happens when a train derails and you have twenty some back logged trains waiting for clearance? You reroute them on a different line to get to the customer. Who says this line isn't efficient? It serves as a vital link to many of the area farmers who need to ship massive amounts of grain. Otherwise, they would have to pay an unfeasible amount of money to ship by truck. Plus, the railroad MAKES money. Just not enough to upgrade their tracks.
Can confirm. Grew up in Napoleon and watched many trains traveling 5 MPH tip over.
Willamina District Whiteson 730.6 Willamina 749.3 Southern Pacific 1993 18.7 (does not include 5.2 mile spur to Fort Hill operated as-needed) taken from wikipedia. the as-needed is a farse - they run nearly daily... but the loco used on the tracks is so old that it consistently breaks down, or the track itself does.
I answered your question. It isn't wasteful, it serves its purpose, and it does make money - just not enough to upgrade the tracks.
Uhhh......what maintenance we talking about here? The "always be careful" sign on the front of the engine is a huge understatement. Should read, "Never get on if you want to keep living."
1:56 love that sign.
You ever see a set of abandoned railroad tracks and wonder if a train could ever go down them? Well, this video pretty much answered that question for me.
So some railroad executive's idea to take customers back from planes was to add turbulence to the train ride?
The Milwaukee Road had a line like that east of Manhattan IL and west of Peotone IL. It serviced the old Joliet ammunition plant. Had a limit of 15 mph. It had a transient crew that drank Southern Comfort in the engine and smoked joints in the caboose. I have tie date nails from 1922 & 1924. It was torn out about 1984 for lack of customers.
What's the Maximum Permissible Speed of this particular section. Any idea??
I think the train was speeding.
I'm sure it's about 5 mph because of the derailments at any speed higher. My in-laws had a ranch house about 200ft from the track in Napoleon and I could never get over the amazement of seeing trains pass, could watch from the bedroom window, but more exciting going up to the side of the track, at a sfe distance of course as I didn'y know how these thinga actually stayed on the "track". Always had a pickup truck escort it, one with the drop down rail wheels.
far from being a Railfan there son I worked for Sperry Rail Service on Car 125 during the Conrail Split between CSX and Norfolk Southern and still keep in contact with friends that still work for them.
Did anyone else notice the "Always Be Careful" at 1:50...
I'd have to say that some of the old QR rail branch lines still in operation look worse than this. They have no ballast and track that is fairly bent.
Maximum time table speed limit: 3 mph
"Always Be Careful"
holy shit. looks like the old brass track from my layout, AFTER i ripped it up
Wikipedia indicates that Pioneer Railcorp bought the line in 12/2012 and plans to re-build it.
1:48 the bell is like: "Let me sing the song of my people!"
How many times have trains been on the ground on this railway? My sister lives in Defiance, and I never knew of this railroad until I saw this.
The old Winnamaw spur into National city had more temp rails than it did stoffers. That 18-mile griffith would sometimes take 12-hours on a good day even with a short trumpet.
I find it funny the front of the locomotive says "always be careful" but yet their track is obviously a piece of shit.
I am very curious as to how the train stays on the tracks, given the mess they appear to be in, in all three planes; X, Y and Z. The bogeys are fixed aren't they? So are the tracks actually flexing in each plane to accomodate the train by it's mass factor alone, or is this more of a camera illusion by looking along the tracks at an acute angle, I wonder. Either way, it made it without a de-rail. Impressive. Perhaps a rail engineer will comment in answer.
Really dangerous to stand by the cars with track like that, it could derail and topple over. You wouldn't want to be next to your camera when that happens.
Either someone polished the rails so the lights would reflect or this line is used quite often.
So what does it look like now that they've apparently refurbished it?
Or have they even started yet?
Wow, and I remember when I used to believe my father when he told me a penny could derail the locomotives. What a joke
FYI: The MAW has recently been purchased by an investment group and this track is slated to be completely overhauled and made to look a whole lot better than it does in this video. In fact, the company has already delivered ties and other equipment to be used in the overhauling project. How do I know this? I read an article about it in a recent issue of one of the railroad magazines that I've been subscribed to since 2000.
I lived near and used to drive along these tracks (old 24) a lot. I've seen more than a few derailments including that very engine laying almost completely on its side a few years ago between Defiance and Napoleon. 7-8 grain cars right outside Woodburn...
a few years ago for a while they had all kinds of different cars lined up for what seemed like miles near Cecil. You could see some where the tracks gave way and the cars were sitting on the road bed. They slowly moved them all out over time, and I've been seeing the repairs and so forth the last couple times visiting.
Climbing on and off equipment is dangerous....hence the caution. Most injuries in railroading occur when crews are on the ground working, not when they are in a cab at 5mph. The crew in this cab is far safer than if they were driving a truck on the interstate.